Trevor Moawad - It Takes What It Takes: How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life

By Russell Wilson

B efore every game, I work with my coaches and teammates to make sure we have the best offensive plan possible. After we install those schemes, I meet with Trevor. Hes the man who helps me create my mental plan, which is just as essential to winning as any other part of my preparation. Essentially, Trevor helps me unlock the power of my brain so that I can deliver a peak performance.

Trevors lessons are powerful, and they can be used on and off the fieldin basically any endeavor you can imagine. They shouldnt be limited to elite athletes. Everyone can benefit from what he teaches. In this book, youll learn how to use the same concepts I employ on the field in your life.

My mental training started when I arrived in Bradenton, Florida, early in 2012 to train for the NFL draft at IMG Academy. The first person my agent, Mark Rodgers, introduced me to was Trevor. The academy had coaches who would help me run faster and throw more accurately, but Trevor was the guy I really wanted to get to know. He was the director of performance at IMG, and it would be his job to help train my brain. One of the things I really want to do is spend a lot of time with you, I told Trevor. My mind is one of my best attributes, but I want to enhance it.

Physically, I had all the talent. I had put up great numbers at NC State and at Wisconsin. But everybody said that at five foot ten, I was too small to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. So when I met with teams before the draft, I wanted my mental talent to jump off the page. How I approach the game. How I approach life. How I was able to face adversity and overcome. Trevor would prepare me for those meetings.

We spent a lot of hours together. Id be out training, but as soon as that was over I did mental conditioning work. Trevor and I clicked in so many ways because of his passion for being successful. But we also came together around his passion for having a limitless mind. (Which, not coincidentally, is the name of the company wed create together.) We really grew on each other. I told him about some of my favorite players. The thing that stood out about those playersthe guys like Drew Brees, Michael Jordan, and Derek Jeterwas how those guys processed things and overcame things. Trevor saw a lot of similarities between me and Drew Brees, another QB who had trained at the academy eleven years earlier. A lot of people had considered Drew too small to start at QB in the NFL. None of those people will be saying that when Drew gets inducted into the Hall of Fame after he retires. I wanted to learn what he learned, and Trevor guided me through it. We did a lot of drills to increase focus, and we talked about a lot of scenarios. How would you respond? How would you react to this? It really prepared me. This work was something I did with my dad a lot. It transferred to Trevor, and he became a huge part of the mental side of my sport and my life.

We kept working together after the Seahawks drafted me. Trevor has been with me for a Super Bowl win, a Super Bowl loss, and nearly every other football scenario you can imagine. We talk almost every day during the season. We try to meet every Thursday to talk in depth. Hell fly to meet me wherever I am. Its a major part of game preparation for me. What am I saying to myself? What am I saying to my teammates? What language am I using? How am I impacting myself? How am I impacting others? How am I being my best self every time I step on the field? Its critical to have a fundamental mental plan. Anything we go through in life is a new map to a new destination. Whats the story we want to tell? How are we going to write that story? Trevor helps me choose the best words.

Sports is very similar to business. Youre there to win in business, and youre there to win in sports. Sports also is also very similar to fatherhood. In family situations, youre there to provide and to help everyone else be successful. As a quarterback, my goal is to make the other ten guys better. How can I put us in the best position possible to be successful every Sunday? Thats a tall task. But weve been able to translate tough moments into great moments. Moments of clarity. Moments of growth. Exceptional moments. That comes down to the language that we speak and the things that we say. Its also our body language. Its the same thing if youre a CEO or a young person trying to get his first job. At the end of the day, the things we say, the body language we give off, and the people were surrounded by affect our internal and external growth and possibilities. Thats everything. Trevor and I try to capture that every time we talk, and then I try to live it.

In our ten years together, weve learned time and again that neutral thinking is everything. The reality is that positive thinking can work, but were not sure if it works every time. Im definitely a positive person. But if youre down 160 in the NFC Championship Game, theres not much to be positive about. The one thing we know that definitely works is negative thinking. And it always works negatively. Negative thinking is never going to get you anywhere. Neutral thinking is going to the truth. Where are we at? What situation are we in? How are we going to execute? Its a little like the way the Navy SEALs think. Whats our mission? How are we going to win? The same thing works in sports. How can we be detail oriented and focused on the task at hand? Some people may call it keeping an even keel, but I think its deeper than that. I always want to remain neutral.

After a while, thinking neutrally becomes natural. I dont believe in failure. I believe in growth momentsif we use them correctly. As we go through the highs and lows of life, we can utilize our experiences from the past. It can become a habitual thing. Its like riding a bike. The greatest athletes in the world, the greatest business leaders in the world, they have that as a habit because theyve worked on it. Im working on the mental side almost every day. Im constantly working on being the best version of myself. Im never there, so I keep working. We use all our moments to help build up for our next great moment.

The mind is a critical piece of all of our greatest moments. In the sports world, we train our muscles to be strong so that we can be at our best when the critical moment arrives. I also choose to train my mind. If we never train it, then it wont be the best it can possibly be. Usain Bolt came out of the womb fast. He trained to be the fastest. I came out of the womb blessed with big hands and an ability to throw a football. But if I hadnt trained that ability, I wouldnt be as good as I am today. The same thing applies to our minds. The difference is that everyone uses their minds no matter what they do for a living. What is the capacity of our minds if we train them? Thats why Trevor and I created Limitless Minds, to help train minds in corporations, on teams, and in schools.

Youll learn many of those lessons in this book. Im a firm believer in that training. It can change our self-esteem. It can change our relationships. It can change our view of success and how we obtain it. It can change communities. It can change the world.